Big Changes in Radford -- October 27, 2014

Hello Everyone,

This week was a crazy one! We have made some big changes here in Radford. Our mission President put two more Elders in our area! Elder Hewlett and Elder Higgins are now our new roommates! President assigned them as official Radford University Elders and they are working through the singles ward. It’s pretty fun--we have had a good time and are learning a lot from each other! It was hard to hand over the university.  I was kind of bummed that we no longer get to work it. But the cool thing is that I have been working so hard and built up the university so much that now we were able to create a new area there for the mission. It’s rewarding to see the progress my companions and I made there at that university. Although it’s hard to hand over all our college investigators and all our potentials, I am also excited to get to spend more time finding families to teach. It’s going to be a lot harder, but I know Elder Williams and I are going to see some big miracles. 

This week something big and unexpected happened. Our investigator, Marcus Cunningham, is the one that has been waiting for months to get permission from the church to be able to be baptized. M. had a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital.  They caught it early and found out he had clogged arteries in his heart. He needed to have surgery and he did. He went in for a triple bypass and during the surgery his body had a hard time handling it and they had to stop the surgery and put him on life support and his body went into a coma. Now this is the crazy part, two years ago Marcus was in a coma from drug abuse and during his coma, he said the Lord came to him and told him he needed to change. From that experience, Marcus changed his life and came to our church. He told me that story at least three times. I knew it was a very special experience for him that did change his life. So now he has been waiting to receive this answer from the twelve for months and no one knew why it was taking so long. Even our mission president didn't know what was taking so long. This has really confused me and when we got the news that Marcus went into a coma last week, I was very confused and frustrated. So my comp and I did much prayer and we asked the Lord what was going on and why this was happening. We then talked to our Mission President about it and got permission to travel two hours to go see him and give his lifeless body a blessing. We did and the ward mission leader and his son, the Bishop (Richard Fisher), took us down there. We got there late and came into the room to minister to him. We agreed because Richard Fisher, the mission leader, has known him the longest, he would give the blessing. I stood in on it with Brother Fisher while he gave the blessing.  It was a very powerful blessing and I can hardly describe the spirit that was in the room--it was so strong. When the blessing was done we all looked at each other and then looked at Marcus as He laid in this bed hooked up to a handful of different machines. We all knew and we all felt the presence of his spirit there and the confirming answer from Heavenly Father that told us that He is there and that this is all part of His plan. We felt His love, confidence and peace that everything was going to work out fine, and that this is happening for a reason. I’m not sure what is going to happen from here, but what I do know is that it’s going to be okay and that Marcus Cunningham has changed my life from this experience. Heavenly Father knows us and He has a plan for us that is perfect. My testimony of the Plan of Salvation has grown so much. Like it says in the Book of Mormon, (once we die we will be brought back to the God that gave us life.) Whatever is going on with Marcus, I know he is with his Father in Heaven.  

I love you all and I want you to know that I love this Gospel and this church and I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ is our Savior. And Heaven is a lot closer than we think and realize. I hope everyone has a good week.  Keep us and Marcus in your prayers please.

Keep the Faith,

-Elder Kaleb Bingham

District Leader -- October 20, 2014

Hey Everyone!

So I will start off with the big news I guess! I got a call from my mission president yesterday and he told me I will be staying in Radford for one more transfer and I will finish training Elder Williams! But then He also called me to be a DISTRICT LEADER. I was pretty excited--I was also a little blown away, I wasn't expecting that one. But I will be over the Blacksburg District and it’s a pretty stacked district.  We’re going to see a lot of miracles! So I will be staying in the same place in Radford working the same area, and I am very excited about it! Just to let everyone know my address is still:

916 2nd Street
Radford, VA  24141

I feel like I have been on a mail fast lately. Haha I would love some letters! 

So just a little update on some of our investigators, 

Trendy is doing awesome!  She is still meeting up with us and she has told us she knows that this church is true.  She is still trying to decide if she wants to join it or not. I'm pretty sure she will, you can tell that the other side is working on her.  She even stood up for the church when some of her friends were giving her a hard time about deciding to be a Mormon.  Keep praying for her please; we’re excited to see what happens this week when we meet with her.

Jesse Huffman, Jesse is still in a nursing home and not doing well. We haven't been able to see him much because of how sick he has been. Currently they have been trying to transfer him to the nursing home where is wife is but I'm not sure that he will make it to that point. His family has somehow lost interest in learning about the church and they haven't been really supportive of him which is sad. I pray for him and I know the last time I saw Him last week I had the impression to bear my testimony to him and read him some scriptures in the Book of Mormon.  It was a powerful spiritual experience and that's what I left him with. I hope I see him again but we will have to play it by ear.

We went back and mowed Mrs. Maguire’s lawn this last week for the last time this year. I sure have grown to love that crazy lady! She never fails to put a smile on our faces. She isn't able to really have a normal conversation; she never comprehends what we are saying.  She usually just tells us about her life and gets mad because we don't come around enough to see her.  Haha She is very sweet and I am still trying to get a picture with her. And no, we don't know what ever happened to her cat, that is still a mystery....

The Vaught family is doing awesome! They came to church again! And we had them over at the bishop’s house last night for a family home evening. It was a good time. We taught about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and it was a fun lesson. We found some cool activities for them to do off of the church website. Alecia Vaught, the mom, has really loved getting back into the church and you can tell that she is so much happier now.  Her husband hasn't meet with us yet but we think he will turn around soon. The good news is that they have been praying as a family every night and reading the scriptures together. Their oldest boy, Josh, is going to be baptized on November 15^th.  We are pretty stoked for that-- it will be a cool one. They are awesome! It’s been such a blessing to be able to work with them!

I was a little disappointed that we were not able to baptize someone this last transfer. But I have come to a conclusion that even though we didn't get a baptism, we taught over 60 lessons to investigators and we invited 219 people to learn about the gospel. We planted many seeds in the Lord’s vineyard and I know we are going to continue to find, teach, and baptize. I love you all and hope to hear from more of you soon.  Have a great week and remember to Keep the Faith!  

Elder Kaleb Bingham

Grateful for this church -- October 13, 2014

Hey Everyone,

This week was a pretty good one! It had its ups and downs but for the most part it was great! We found some awesome investigators and we have seen some great progress in the investigators that we have! It has been such a blessing! 

Last P-day we went bowling with a bunch of other missionaries from our zone. It was a blast!  We have a fun bowling alley on the Radford Campus that we go too. I think my favorite part of it was the music that they play there.  Haha Music is one of the biggest things I miss! But the cool thing is that it will all be there when I get home! 

We were walking around campus one night this week and Elder Williams and I were talking about something pointless when we heard a girl yell behind us, "Hey are you guys Mormons?" It blew us away! We turned around and said Yes of course! And she then told us that she had met with the missionaries before she moved to school and that her boyfriend’s family were all members of the church. We talked with her for a while, then set up an appointment to meet up and teach her. We met with her twice last week and she is great. Her name is Shawna. We kind of went through some of the lessons to see how much she knew and the end result of everything was that she told us she wanted to get baptized but she just doesn't know when she wants to! We asked her if she knew that Joesph Smith was a prophet and she said, “Yes, I know He saw what he saw.” She also told us that she knew that the church is true. She is solid! I hope when we meet with her this week that we will be able to put her on date to be baptized! I will keep everyone posted on how it goes! :) 

Also this week we got a random phone call from a lady that wanted us to come visit her. We went over and it turns out she is a member that is really less active. Her name is Alecia Vaught. She is awesome, She has two little boys that she wants to get baptized and a husband who is not a member and she hopes that he will become interested as well. It’s a normal family which is great and kind of rare. Haha We were pretty excited! They came to church yesterday and the ward was really welcoming to them. The scary thing was that it was Fast and Testimony Meeting. Testimony meetings are the scariest thing as a missionary! They are great and all but some people... You always get the random weird people that go up and cry hysterically or tell pointless stories about their pets or try to relate the gospel to awkward topics. Haha For nonmembers that visit church for the first time, it is quiet the sight! I don't think I have ever prayed so hard outside of a testimony meeting. Haha But what do you do? Luckily, yesterday’s wasn't so bad--it actually went very well! And the Vaught Family loved it so all was good:) It was a true blessing to find such awesome people to teach. 

I love this church and I love the gospel. I have never known the joy that the truth of this church has until I came on this mission. This last week a guy invited us to come to a Sunday School Bible study at a Baptist church. I have actually done this a lot, at least 5 to 6 times on my mission.  People invite us all the time to attend different church events. This one was a little different. We walked in late (on purpose) to get some extra attention. The whole congregation turned and looked at us. . .  It’s quiet the sight to see Mormon missionaries walk into a Baptist church. Haha We sat down and listened to this pastor. The topic they were speaking on was the trinity. I hate the idea of the trinity that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are one person. But the conclusion of this preacher’s rant was that if we don't believe in the trinity we are not saved and dammed to hell. It was so wrong, in so many ways from the truth. I had to bite my tongue the whole time. After the meeting, an older man came up to me and told us that he was glad that we came to test our faith. We started smiling when he said that! We couldn't believe someone could actually believe that to be the truth! After a minute or so, we pointed out in the Bible how his preacher was wrong. Of course we did it in a respectful way. But it really does show me that we are the only church that has the fullness of Jesus Christ's gospel. All these other churches run in circles for gain and they rely on the wisdom of man instead of the wisdom of God.  We should all be grateful for this church because without it we would be so terribly lost.  I love you all and hope you have a great week! :)  

Keep the Faith, 

-Elder Bingham

Who am I? -- October 6, 2014

Hello Everyone,

Wow this last week flew by!! We had a lot of ups and downs, but we also had a lot of cool experiences as well! 

We are finally moving in to our new place today! It took them all week to clean the carpets and all that. . . so we had to spend a lot of time de junking our apartment and deciding what we wanted to take with us! It’s surprising how much junk Elders acquire over the years. Haha We found Ensign Magazines from the 80's! I was hoping we would find like a really old original copy of the Book of Mormon, but it didn't happen. ;) Haha But all is well; our new apartment is really cool! It’s so big! It’s a house and I think President is going to move two more Elders in with us next transfer so that should be fun! I did get my package and letter from dad, so don't worry.  I don't think I lost any mail--I hope! 

We have been spending more and more time on the Radford campus lately, for some reason that’s where we have been finding all of our new investigators.  And I am fine with that because I love teaching people my age.  It’s a blast!  

We had a very interesting lesson with a guy named Andre, We found him while walking around the campus and he looked really depressed so we decided to ITL him. He apparently was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 14 years old. He is not talkative at all and you can tell he does not like life. Surprising enough, he was willing to meet up with us. We meet with him and we attempted to teach the restoration. We got through it and I knew that what we were teaching him wasn't what he needed. So I bore my testimony to him and told him how much God loves him and cares about him. Elder Williams did the same and we talked about the Godhead and why we are here. He didn't say much the whole time but when we were about to leave we asked him if he had any questions for us and he asked us, "What does the still small voice feel like?"  It was a golden question! We explained it to him and taught him how he could feel it for himself.  I hope we can meet with him again and I pray that we can help him come closer to heavenly Father. 

I think I am starting to really find my strengths as a missionary. I absolutely hate knocking on doors and tracting. We have a good system that Elder Williams and I have come up with. We have decided to not knock doors and focus on finding people when they are out of their homes and in more casual places. We spend a lot of time walking around parks and grocery stores and of course the college campus. They give us pass along cards to give to people--they usually have pictures of the Savior on them or pictures of temples. That’s usually how we open up conversations with people. We call it ITL'ing it stands for invite to learn. It’s really fun.  I used to be scared to start talking to random people but now I don't really have any hesitation! It’s a real treat to see my own testimony open up people’s eyes. Just a simple brief testimony of the restored Gospel can do wonders—it’s incredible. The Light of Christ is a real thing! And as a missionary, I have seen it in so many of God’s children that are coming closer and closer to the truth. I would say ITL’s are my favorite part of this work for that reason, to see “Pure Light” overcome darkness in people’s lives. 

We were able to watch all of conference including the priesthood session! It was so great! How lucky are we to have the restored church of Jesus Christ and have living Prophets and Apostles?! I have never enjoyed Conference so much in my life. To missionaries I guess it’s like watching the super Bowl haha! But really I learned soooo much in those two days. I took over 40 pages of notes from all of the talks.... After it was all over I thought to myself, Who am I??? I used to never even care about conference and sadly enough I never paid much attention.  It showed me that I really am changing in a good way! I loved all of the talks! I think my favorite one was the last talk by Elder Bednar. He really gave an amazing one about why we do so much missionary work. I loved how he said "To all nonmembers of the church, We as a church challenge you to bring all the truth you have and put it up against our gospel to try to prove it wrong." How true is it though? We do have the complete truth and I also loved how Elder Cook said "The Restoration of the Gospel completely shattered the myth that God no longer speaks to his children!" That was a really cool quote for me, I loved that one! 

I love this church and everything about it. I have really started to develop a true testimony of this gospel and I would never have been able to do it if it weren't for the hard times and trials that I have been through on this mission. I know our Savior Lives and that Heavenly Father knows us all by name and loves us. I know Joseph Smith was the first Prophet of the Restoration and He did the work his father needed him to do. I love this church and this Gospel and I would challenge everyone to really ponder the things we believe and in absolute faith Pray to have a complete conversion of our Savior’s church. I love you all and thank everyone for all the support and helping me get where I am at today.

Keep the Faith,

-Elder Kaleb Bingham. 

A grandmother's influence -- September 29, 2014

Hello Everyone,

This week was a great one! It was long and we worked hard but it was also very rewarding! We had a few really powerful lessons that strengthened my testimony and felt really good to teach.

On Monday last week, after preparation day was over, we got a call from one of our investigators named Jesse Huffman. We have been working with Jesse for a long time, ever since I got here. He has been battling cancer for the last year and I’m pretty sure he isn't going to last much longer. It’s sad to see but, it’s also really cool to see because even though he hasn't been able to get baptized yet, he has so much faith in the Lord and He has read the Book of Mormon and he knows it’s the truth. We were able to go give him a blessing in the hospital that night and you could feel the spirit so strongly with him. It’s comforting to see someone with so much hope and endurance. I don't know what will happen to him from here, but what I do know is that Heavenly Father loves him and He has much in store for him in this next life. Watching Him has made me so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. This gospel is amazing! 

After we left the hospital, one of our college investigators called us and told us she wanted to know more about what God has planned for her in this life. Her name is Liz Scott. We were able to meet up with her that night and she broke down and told us all of her life story. She has come from a rough back ground.  Her parents were drug abusers and she has been in and out of foster homes. She now is a Christian and is strong in the Baptist faith. When we meet with her, she worked us over with questions. But luckily the spirit was so strong we had no problem answering them! At the end of our lesson we invited her to be baptized and she accepted the invite! So hopefully now she will put in the effort and live all the commitments!  

We found a new investigator this week! This girl named Trendy came up to us on campus and she has a really cool story! She is from Africa  and moved to America with her family when she was really young. Her Grandma was a Mormon and took her to church with her for years when she was growing up. When she was eight or nine she wanted to get baptized but her parents told her that she had to wait until she was a little older. So a couple years passed, but her Grandma died of cancer. It was really hard for her, before she died, her grandma told her to keep going to our church. So Trendy did. She kept going to our church with a family she was close to until she was about 10 or 11. Her parents one morning told her that she needed to go to their Methodist church. She went and she met with the preacher and talked to him. This Preacher took her into his office and he freaked her out. He told her all of these lies about the Mormon church and basically showed her all of this terrible anti-Mormon videos to scare her out of continuing to go to the LDS church. So she was so scared that she completely stopped going to our church. Which is very sad... but she found us and told us she has realized that what she saw and the things they told her were not true. She wanted us to come re-teach her everything that she has forgotten. We had a great lesson with her about the restoration and the coolest part was that you could almost feel her grandma’s influence there. We have some high hopes for her and are really excited!  

We had a specialized training with President Salisbury last week! It was a really good one we learned a lot about how the spirit affects our missionary work and what we can do to improve our success and see more baptisms. He surprised us at the end and showed us the new church movie that will be coming out in theaters in a couple weeks called Meet The Mormons! It was a great movie and I would encourage everyone to go.  It had us all in tears. Haha

Well all is still going well here in Radford. We will be moving apartments tomorrow or Wednesday! Our new address is..... 

916 2nd Street Radford, VA 24141  

I hope everyone has an awesome week! Pray for our investigators so we can get some of them hopefully baptized soon! I love you all! Keep the faith! 

-Elder Kaleb Bingham. 

Trying to prove us wrong -- September 22, 2014

Hey Everyone!

This week was a long one! We had a challenging week for sure but it ended in a really rewarding way! 

We started the week off good.  We had a fun p-day; we went fishing and went and ate at Taco Bell. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any fish last week but it still felt great to just be fishing and throwing a line out there! We usually go and walk through part of the river where we catch the fish, but this time we stayed on the shore.  I love the New River, it’s the big river that surrounds Radford. It’s beautiful and one day I will come back and get to hopefully float it like all the people here do! 

We picked up two new investigators this last week. The first one we picked up is Lois Marsh.  She is a nice lady and is very Methodist. She is older but still has a lot of potential! We taught her the Restoration and she really enjoyed it. It’s hard for people to understand sometimes that we needed to have the restoration so we could have the priesthood back to the earth. But it was a great lesson and we committed her to be baptized on Oct 25th! We were pretty excited for that. 

The other investigator we picked up is Shyann. We are teaching her boyfriend.  They are both in high school but they ask some good deep questions and are excited to learn! We had a good lesson with her and with Josh, her boyfriend. Hopefully we can get them on date for baptism soon!  

We are teaching a young man, well a kid my age. haha He is going to school at RU and he is the son of a Lutheran Pastor. I found him and we have been working with him.  I think He let us teach him so he could try to prove us wrong. But amazingly enough, we were able to teach him the Restoration and we came back and watched the Joseph Smith movie with him. He said that his church always told lies about Joseph Smith growing up and all these years, he had a misconception of who he is and what he did. It was an incredible lesson and we put him on date to be baptized in the end of October. I hope he can hold in there; it’s going to be hard for his family to accept the fact he is taking lessons from Mormon missionaries and preparing for baptism. One thing I have learned is that if it’s meant to be, the Lord will always prepare a way for someone to follow Him.  

Well I took my boy Elder Williams tracting.  He hated it! Haha We went out two different days and knocked on doors. It was disappointing because we couldn't find anyone that is interested. We have been trying very hard to find a good solid normal family to teach and baptize and we have been praying for it, but so far we haven't found them.  In our area, we have a college and a family community.  It’s a fun mix. It is so easy to talk to kids in college and find ones that are interested. We have been very blessed to find a lot of people from RU. The only sad part is that the closest YSA ward is in Blacksburg where Virginia Tech is. It’s about 30 minutes away. So Hopefully we can start getting them to the family ward!  

We are going to have to move apartments this week. We share a house with a terrible family that lives in the basement. The house we live in is not meant to house two different families. The people we live with are not married and have two kids who have both been kicked out of school and the parents are not allowed on any school campuses in Radford. But the worst part is that we complained to the land lord about them and they got upset at us for it, so they have been spreading a lot of rumors to the ward members that they know saying we throw parties and all this bad stuff. So President Salisbury is coming down today to take us house shopping.  I will let you know if our address changes.  

Well that's just about all of the exciting stuff that has been going on here! I appreciate all of the support and encouragement. We have seen many miracles and are very excited to see what this next week brings us.  I love you all!  Keep the Faith!!

-Elder Kaleb Bingham